something new is at our house!

Yup, that's right...we needed one more new thing introduced into our lives, but unlike the new baby, this is for both of my kiddos! A few weeks ago I had hit a "breaking point" and was in the bathroom, crying and begging God to send me some wisdom with how to parent Hailey and much to my surprise He did! (why is it that I ask God for things, but then am surprised when He actually gives them to me??) One of the nuggets of wisdom He sent me was through my doctor, who very wisely said, "if one thing isn't working, try something else" (kind of a "duh" moment, but I guess when you're sleep deprived you need things spelled out for you very plainly!) But, that just set the stage for the next nugget of wisdom that we have "new"ly introduced to our house this week! Which is "room time" and "crib time"! When I first heard of room time it was from a friend who said that her son plays nicely in his room for a 1/2 hour and that gives her a break to take a shower, clean up the kitchen, fix dinner- whatever she needs to get done...and I have to admit that I was hooked from the minute she said it- all I wanted to know was how do I get my daughter to do that!! But the more I thought about it the more I second guessed it and myself. I worried that making my daughter sit in her room for a half hour made me an awful mom and the fact that I really wanted a break from her made me an even worse one! Instead of implementing it right away I thought about it for a while and prayed about it some more and I realized two things: 1) I'm not the kind of mom who can always be doing stuff with her kids, I'm just not that Mom. I'm probably not as good of a Mom as someone who enjoys just playing with her kids all the time and snuggling with her baby constantly, but if I were to try and do that all the time I would be a very cranky and frustrated Mom! So, I have to do what works for me and for my family- and, clearly, keeping Hailey around all the time was not working for us- it was just making both of us frustrated and upset! and 2) Hailey needed to learn how to play on her own and be on her own- she can't always be following me around the house and expecting that I am going to entertain her, since it's not going to be her reality!!

So, yesterday was day 1 of Hailey spending half an hour in her room playing with her toys! It was AMAZING! I can't believe that it took me until Wednesday to try this- I shoulda done it on Monday! She cried and wailed and said "momma" in her very sad voice for maybe 10 minutes (and I almost caved, but I held strong- even taking her back to her room 2 times, when she came out) but after that it was done- she was done- she sat and played and entertained herself incredibly well for the next 20 minutes. And, for me, it was a great little break to get the bathroom cleaned, the floors scrubbed, and lunch made- all things that generally would have had to wait til her naptime or done with her "help"! And, today was even better, she only cried for maybe a minute and then spent the next half hour playing with her toys- toys that she barely ever even touches unless some other kids are around!

I couldn't get a picture of room time, so here she is, later in the day, sampling the cookies that we made for Daddy to take to work!

You may be wondering what Jackson was doing this whole time...well, since Hailey had room time, Jackson got some crib time! For the first time I put his mobile in motion and just let him hang out in there- awake- to smile and play with it! And, much to my amazement- he, too, had a great time smiling and cooing at his little winnie the pooh animals!

I'm so thankful that God brought me some wisdom on parenting my two little kiddos and I'm so thankful that He showed me that I don't have to be a cookie cutter Mom or treat my kids exactly like my friends treat their kids to be a good Mom!

like Father like Son

Everyone says that Korey and Jackson look alike...what do you think??

How 'bout these two expressions?? Any similarities?? ;)

8 weeks

Jackson is turning 8 weeks old tomorrow! I can NOT believe that he has been in our family that long...I feel like it was just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital...on the other hand, though, I can't even remember what life was like without him! As hard as it is for me to believe that he's only been here for 8 weeks it's even harder for me to believe that just a few months ago he wasn't here! I don't even know what I did with all my freetime- I musta been pretty bored! :)

You're 8 weeks old, my sweet little man and I've loved every minute that you've been here with me! I thank God every day for you, because "you have put more joy in my heart" (Ps.4:

7a)

Here are some of the fun little tidbits about you:

According to our home scale, you weigh 10 lbs! I'm so proud of you! You are growing so fast and getting so big!

You wear almost all 0-3 month clothes, now, you can still fit into a few of your newborn things, but you're mostly a big boy!

You smile and coo whenever I look at you and you've even smiled for your big sister a few times!

You have the happiest little disposition- you barely ever cry unless there's a problem!

You pretty consistently sleep until 3:30 or 4 in the morning and last night you didn't even eat- you just had your diaper changed and went right back to bed!

You love to snuggle with me and Daddy when you get up in the mornings and sometimes you even let us go back to sleep while you hang out in our bed!

You love your baby swing and were very sad when it ran out of batteries last night!

You put yourself to sleep and calm yourself down!

You love to suck on your hands and fingers...they're always finding their way into your mouth, even when I swaddle you up your hands always find their way out!

I love you, buddy, and can't wait to see how you'll change in the next 8 weeks!

an attitude of grattitude!

I have so many things to be thankful for and sometimes I loose sight of that! I've been trying hard to make a conscious effort, every day, to write down and thank God for at least a few of the things that He has blessed me with that day! Today, I thought I'd share a few of them with you all:

I'm soooo thankful for good friends! I've never been a girl who's good at having a best friend- in fact, Korey tells me that I'm not best friend material ;)- but, I have had a few friends who have been in my life for a while and who I consider good and dear friends! If you ask me a good friend really is the person you can call or go visit when you need a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear to rant to, or someone to give you a break and this week I've done all three of those with two of my good friends and it's just been a blessing for me to have them in my life!

(and in Hailey and Jackson's life) I'm so thankful that Hailey loves her little brother...she just can't get enough of the "baby" at our house and does anything in her power to get closer to him and keep an eye on him! I'm also thankful that she's so creative- who else would come up with the idea to climb up in her toy basket to get closer to the baby??!! I really hope and pray that I don't "beat" the creativeness out of her before she's old enough to use it for good things! :)

here's her creative genius at work...I think she's taking a break and chewing on the back of her paint brush waiting for inspiration to strike! ;)

I'm so thankful for my short and petite little girl who can still fit into the little bumbo seat...I have been giving many minutes of rest as Hailey, her dolls, and her bunny take turns sitting in this seat!

I'm sooo incredibly thankful for my two sweet children! They keep my life interesting and full- who could ask for more than that?!

I'm just thankful for sweet moments like this, in a world filled with chaos and stress I always know that I can come home, dance with Hailey, smile with Jackson or snuggle up on the couch with both of them for story time and that just makes me happy!

Thank you, dear Jesus, for giving me the perfect children for our family! Thank you, for perfectly equipping me to be their Mom and for promising me that I'm not on my own and that I don't have to do this all alone!

it's dinner time

Last night I made chicken pot pie and Hailey NEEDED to help me!!

(she was either going to help or cling to my leg crying...)

It was the happiest she'd been all day

(and I 'd have to say that some guy is going to be pretty happy when he marries

her and realizes that she's been cooking since she was 20 months old!) :)

string cheese and frozen peas and carrots are a good dinner, right??!

for a girl who has a ton of toys that she never plays with, she sure was happy to be playing with a wooden spoon, a glass and a potato masher!
Too bad every moment of the day can't be this fun! :)

just hanging out!

Hailey's new favorite thing to do is "hang out" in the bottom drawer, playing with all of her sippy cups and dishes!

And, giving her bear and herself a bath in Jackson's baby tub!

I really don't know what has gotten into this little bug lately, but she has really been a riot! (aka- if I don't laugh I'll probably cry at all the trouble she's been into lately...) ;)

She definitely keeps ahead of me and as soon as I tell her not to do something- she comes up with something new to get into! Someday I know I'm going to enjoy this little creative part of her spirit and as for now, I'm just hoping that I don't squash it so far down that she forgets how to be creative by the time she grows up!

It's a breakthrough!

Today, Hailey was throwing one of her fits because I was holding Jackson and I decided to try a new approach...I grabbed her, I grabbed him and I sat on the floor singing to them both, swaying back and forth and...

after about 5 minutes Jackson pooped all over us....

and...miraculously- Hailey stopped crying and fighting to get away from me!! :)

I definitely considered that a huge breakthrough, but it was what happened in the next minute that was even bigger!!

Hailey not only started swaying with me as I sang, but she took her little hand away from mine and snuck in behind her little brother and pulled him close to her and said "wuv you"!

At that point I started crying!

It was the sweetest thing that Hailey has ever done and I loved it.

Jackson's first pumpkin patch trip!

Jackson, Hailey, and I went on a little trip to Wilke's pumpkin patch with our baby buddies group on Tuesday and it was great fun! :)

here's Hailey, trying to be like the "big" boys...Brogan and his cousin, Jounior
Jackson and I hanging out on the wagon

me and my two kiddos

Hailey and Jackson on the little chairs with their pumpkins...Hailey even picked hers out herself! :)

and, Hailey holding her little brother...

Hailey playing with her and Jackson's pumpkins!

When the kids and I first go to the pumpkin patch, Hailey was a little cranky, so I ended up carrying them both and I was definitely thinking twice about my decision to take them there...luckily we persevered, got some help from our friends and had a really fun time! (even Hailey ended up having a good time) :)

Pudding Playtime

Hailey really wanted a snack, today, and I really wanted her to do something "fun" (aka-something that would entertain her for a few minutes so I could get some stuff done...) ;)

So, I borrowed a trick from a friend, and let her do some "finger painting" with chocolate pudding!

here she is with her pudding...hamming it up for the camera!

she wasn't really sure what to make of it at first, but once she got started...

there was no stopping her!

at the end we finally gave up all pretence of playing with it and just chewed on the container! :)

We learned today that pudding is useful for so many things...it's not just for eating, anymore! (although, that is still the best-and yummiest- thing to do with pudding) :)

giggles and grins

We caught Jackson's first grins on camera!! Isn't he adorable???

I don't think there's anything sweeter than a smiling baby and he definitely is sweet!

and so is his sister...who definitely wanted to have her little smile on here, too! :)

family

I feel like we're really a family these days...I don't know what we were before- a pretend family??!...but, for sure, now, we're really, truly a family!

here's the proof...our first, real family self portrait! :) I just love self portraits, 'cause everyone look so funny in them- I love how Korye has this huge head and Hailey's barely visible and Jackson looks like he's laughing at us all! :)

our kiddos are starting to figure out how this family things works...Hailey's even helping us by giving Jackson a ride in her stroller! :) hahaha...justkidding, we really didn't let her push him, we just set him int here for the pic!

The happy Papa and his two kiddos!

the happy Mama and the two kiddos!

Korey and I are really enjoying our new family of four! It has been super fun this past week and we're even starting to figure out how everything works and goes together! :)

what a difference...

a month makes!

Jackson has been here a whole month, now, and in the shower this afternoon I was thinking about how big of a difference the month has made in our household! When we first brought Jackson home, neither Hailey, nor I were really sure what to do about all the change...we both had a pretty rough go of it at first. It was hard for me, because when Hailey was born I only had one child to love, one little person to bond to, but with Jackson it was different. Even though I spent 9 months carrying him and "bonding" with him, it took me almost 2 weeks to really feel like he was mine, luckily a month has definitely been long enough for me to come to terms with having another baby and to create an inseparable bond with my little man!

Hailey had a hard time because she wasn't sure what to do about the fact that she was no longer the only baby in the house and more importantly- momma's lap wasn't open to her 24/7, anymore! But, she also, has done remarkably well- she now enjoys playing with him and dressing her dolls up in his clothes and diapers and putting them in his bouncy seat!

(the one on the left is her the day we brought him home- she wouldn't even look at him; and the one on the right is her and her dolly playing, dressed in his clothes, and playing in his bouncy seat)
When Hailey was born we had a verse for her and so, when Jackson was born I found a verse for him...it is Psalm 4:7a, "you have put more joy in my heart" And that verse is perfect for him and exactly what God has done for me through him- put more joy in my heart! Sometimes joy comes through sweet little packages and sometimes it comes through trials, but however it comes it is the sweetness of knowing that we are fully submitted to God that makes it true joy. And, that is what Jackson has been this month- he has been a sweet package that has shown me the "ugliness" of my own heart and the "ugliness" of Hailey's heart. Both of us want life to be on our terms, not on God's terms, but that is what he's used this past month to refine and change in us! God has really shown me some of the "idols" that I have been holding onto- the idol of wanting to have it all together- having two wonderfullly well behaved kids, a house that is always clean, a dog that doesn't bark at neighbors or the mailman, and not crying at the drop of a hat. But, all of those have characterized this past month...I'm pretty sure I have spent more time crying this past month than ever before in my adult life and I have found that I just can't have it all together- in fact, I can't really have much together and parent these two kiddos. But, that's just it- I don't have to have it all together, because God hasn't called me to have a clean house, to have well behaved children, to have a "perfect" life- He has called me to be a woman who follows after Him and submits herself and her family to following Him and His will! And, that is just what I have been doing in the last week and hope to continue doing, because it is a much better place to be- it is a freeing place to be! So, if you happen to come over, you may not find all the toys picked up and you probably will find more dog hair on the floor than usual, but hopefully you will find a happier and more contented momma and babies!

I know that both Hailey and I have a long ways to go, but I thank God that He has started this work and that He is faithful to complete!